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Meet Ana Maria

Councilwoman Ana Maria Quintana is a proud product of the Southeast community, having attended Elizabeth St. Elementary, Nimitz Junior High, and Bell High School, where she was both Student Body President and Homecoming Queen. Ana Maria’s parents and older brother emigrated from Durango, Mexico. Her mother lives two blocks away in neighboring Cudahy, her father is now in heaven, and she has three beautiful nieces.

Her parent’s dedication and sacrifice to give their children a better life and opportunities have taught her to give nothing less than her personal best. More importantly, her parents stressing the value of an education and the opportunities it offers not only allowed her to pursue a degree from Yale University, but also earn a Master’s Degree from the Universidad de Navarra in Pamplona, Spain, where she also taught at the Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, and a law degree from Columbia Law School.

Ana Maria’s professional experience includes working with families as an organizer – initially with unions, including the United Farm Workers, UFW, AFL-CIO, and Service Employees International Union, SEIU, and then later in a school setting under LAUSD’s Parent Community Services Branch, as a substitute teacher at both Bell High School and Southeast High School, in the city of South Gate. After graduating from law school, she participated in a litigation fellowship with the American Board of Trial Advocates. She then focused on real estate brokerage and development, having served as Legal Counsel and Director of Development for Maya Cinemas North America, Inc. She is currently Of Counsel with a boutique law firm that represents public entities, primarily handling employment matters and conducting investigations, and works independently as a Real Estate Broker. Her specialization in development and the acquisition and development of family owned businesses has helped immensely in reviewing and negotiating cost-effective contracts for the city of Bell.

In light of the fraudulent activity and misappropriation of city funds surrounding Bell in 2010, Ana Maria decided to run for city council. With the help of friends and family, she successfully managed to garner the support of constituents and was elected to office in 2011. Ana Maria set out to make a difference in her community by using both her skills and knowledge, with an eye for efficiency and savings, to examine all the city’s service contracts and assess the City’s liability with pending litigation. Her hard work and dedication to addressing the needs of her residents caused her to be re-elected to the Bell City Council in 2013 and 2017.

During her terms, Ana Maria has been an ardent advocate for education (organizing townhalls on Charter reform and Immigration; has led efforts to save Adult Education; actively encourages students to go to college and assists them in getting scholarships), promotes transparent government (brought livestreaming of all city’s public meetings to the community and has proposed the creation of citizens’ committees for the I-710 project and review of the City Charter), emphasizes the importance of personal health and well-being (began a running initiative with members of the community), and encourages civic engagement (formed initiative “Rebuilding Bell One Block at a Time” whereby residents and Bell High School students do monthly cleanups to serve as an example of civic pride; brought the Cubs Scouts to Bell and is currently working to bring the Girl Scouts and other civic organizations like the Rotary Club and Kiwanis Club).

Councilwoman Quintana is a board member of the League of California Cities and California Contract Cities Association and is a member of the I-710 Project Committee and the Southern CA Edison Government Advisory Board. She is also a founding member of the Yale Latino Alumni Association and serves on the board of the Yale Club of Los Angeles. Councilwoman Quintana’s term in office will expire in 2022. With your help, she will continue to serve her beloved City of Bell.